Child Abuse Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Child Abuse, including details on family violence, examinations, long-term effects, psychiatrics disorders.

Resuscitation injuries complicating the interpretation of premortem trauma and natural disease in children.

Plunkett J

Department of Pathology, Regina Medical Center, Hastings, MN, USA. plunkettj@frontiernet.net

Minor soft tissues injuries are common in both adults and children who have had cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Potentially life-threatening injuries are rare. The pre-arrest history in a resuscitated adult often assists the pathologist to interpret autopsy findings. In contrast, an infant or child may not have a reliable history. In this situation, it may be difficult if not impossible to distinguish resuscitation injuries from pre-existing accidental or inflicted trauma. I describe two children who had significant autopsy-documented injuries initially attributed to abuse. The State filed murder charges against the caretaker in each case. However, further history and review of the medical records suggested that resuscitation rather than pre-arrest trauma caused almost all of the injuries. The State dismissed the charges in the first case. A jury returned a "not guilty" verdict in the second. It is essential to consider the entire history and not just autopsy findings when performing a death investigation.

Published 20 January 2006 in J Forensic Sci, 51(1): 127-30.
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